Aug 71 min read

TEG Newsletter - Issue #26We have news for you!

Albuquerque Joinery’s Project in the Home Stretch

The Abq Joinery team. Left to right: Nathan Demar, Sławomir Szumánski, Erik Navarro, Kenny DeLapp, and Esther Fredrickson.

Work continues on Albuquerque Joinery’s ongoing project, which is nearing completion. The project consists of two adobe buildings – a 1,750 sq ft house, and 800 sq ft barn – situated on a small, agricultural lot in the Los Griegos neighborhood of Albuquerque. TEG toured the site in March 2024. At that point, the roof was completed, the exterior insulation installed, and interior plaster was just getting started.

Since then, many finishing details have been taking place inside and out. Outside, all the exterior doors for this project were built by Albuquerque Joinery. A total of eight doors were constructed – a single entry door with transom, double patio door, double workshop doors, and another triple unit for the barn consisting of an active door and a passive bifold. The barn eaves and gable ends have been stuccoed, but the rest of that building remains exposed adobe. The adobes are the semi-stabilized variety that have passed the stabilization test, making them, per code, suitable for a finished exterior surface. Additionally, they are protected from the weather by the eave overhang. The house, meanwhile, is fully stuccoed.

All of our interior walls have been plastered and painted. Our plaster of choice is a homemade earthen plaster (nothing sticks to mud better than mud!), finished with a white clay paint. The house is fully painted, with a clay aliz applied to the Rumford fireplace, while the barn interior will remain the natural plaster color. The brick floors have been laid, and the showers tiled. Built-in closets in the entry and bedrooms are being constructed now, as well as bookshelves, the kitchen cabinetry, and vanities – all built entirely in-house by Albuquerque Joinery.

We’re hoping to have a small open house party at the completion of this project. If you’d be interested in attending, please email us at abqjoinery@gmail.com for an invitation.

Esther Fredrickson – TEG Board Member, Albuquerque JoineryThe Abq Joinery team. Left to right: Nathan Demar, Sławomir Szumánski, Erik Navarro, Kenny DeLapp, and Esther Fredrickson. Work continues on Albuquerque Joinery’s ongoing project, which is nearing completion. The project consists of two adobe buildings – a 1,750 sq ft house, and 800 sq ft barn – situated on a small, agricultural lot in the Los Griegos neighborhood of Albuquerque. TEG toured the site in March 2024. At that point, the roof was completed, the exterior insulation installed, and interior plaster was just getting started. Since then, many finishing details have been taking place inside and out. Outside, all the exterior doors for this project were built by Albuquerque Joinery. A total of eight doors were constructed – a single entry door with transom, double patio door, double workshop doors, and another triple unit for the barn consisting of an active door and a passive bifold. The barn eaves and gable ends have been stuccoed, but the rest of that building remains exposed adobe. The adobes are the semi-stabilized variety that have passed the stabilization test, making them, per code, suitable for a finished exterior surface. Additionally, they are protected from the weather by the eave overhang. The house, meanwhile, is fully stuccoed. All of our interior walls have been plastered and painted. Our plaster of choice is a homemade earthen plaster (nothing sticks to mud better than mud!), finished with a white clay paint. The house is fully painted, with a clay aliz applied to the Rumford fireplace, while the barn interior will remain the natural plaster color. The brick floors have been laid, and the showers tiled. Built-in closets in the entry and bedrooms are being constructed now, as well as bookshelves, the kitchen cabinetry, and vanities – all built entirely in-house by Albuquerque Joinery. We’re hoping to have a small open house party at the completion of this project. If you’d be interested in attending, please email us at abqjoinery@gmail.com for an invitation. Esther Fredrickson – TEG Board Member, Albuquerque Joinery

Abq Joinery Hiring

Albuquerque Joinery is seeking a highly skilled craftsman/craftswoman to join our team. Candidate must be available to start work in the fall. In the coming months we will be breaking ground on our next adobe build – a 2,500 sq ft adobe home in the North Valley – and want to bring our new team member on at the start of construction. See the full PDF job posting for more information.

Esther Fredrickson – TEG Board Member, Albuquerque Joinery

Abq Joinery Hiring

Esther Fredrickson – TEG Board Member, Albuquerque Joinery

TEG Tour – July 13, 2024 – Taos, New Mexico

The Earthbuilders’ Guild members and guests gathered in the beautiful garden at the Taos Art Museum at The Fechin House on a beautiful summer day on July 13th. We started out with a presentation from our guests, Mark Goldman & Angela Francis from CASA (Community Alliance for Sustainable Adobe). For a full description of CASA’s work visit their website: adobecasa.com. Under the leadership of Anita O. Rodriguez CASA has embarked on some hands-on training. Visit their website for details.

The afternoon continued with a Tour and docent led visit to the beautiful adobe structures which house the Taos Art Museum. Visit their website: taosartmuseum.org for information on the property and its history.

Thanks to all who attended. If you have any suggestions for future Tours we would welcome the input. We visit historic properties, homeowner builder projects and homes, Contractor projects – ongoing and completed, and any other earthen related buildings throughout New Mexico. Visit our website for updates.

Pat Martinez Rutherford - TEG Board Member

Newsletter Invite for Contributions

We want to hear your story!

Do you have an earthbuilding story to share? Consider contributing to our quarterly newsletter. TEG welcomes any earthen news, achievement, anecdote, reflection, or personal story related to the fields of adobe, compressed earth block, rammed earth, or cob. Be sure to share your photos, as well! Email us for more info: theearthbuildersguild@gmail.com

Pat Martinez Rutherford - TEG Board Member

Newsletter Invite for Contributions

We want to hear your story!

Pat Martinez Rutherford - TEG Board Member

Santa Fe Community College

Adobe Program Updates

The summer 2024 semester just finished and the fall 2024 semester class schedules have now been released (with a few registration spots still available):

Fall 2024

ADOB 111 - Adobe Construction Basics

Dates: 08/19-10/12/2024 (class meets in person September 7 & 8 and September 28 & 29, 2024)

Format: Blended (50% online + 50% field work)

Instructors: Kurt Gardella & Issac Logsdon

ADOB 112 - Adobe Wall Construction

Dates: 10/14-12/07/2024 (class meets in person October 26 & 27 and November 16 & 17, 2024)

Format: Blended (50% online + 50% field work)

Instructors: Kurt Gardella & Issac Logsdon

ADOB 113 - Passive Solar Adobe Design

Dates: 10/14-12/07/2024

Format: Online

Instructor: Kurt Gardella

View the full Fall 2024 online schedule here: https://sfccssb.sfcc.edu/PROD/pw_pub_sched.p_listthislist?term_in=202420&subj_in=ADOB

Kurt Gardella - TEG Board Member, SFCC Adjunct Faculty

Santa Fe Community College

Adobe Program Updates

The summer 2024 semester just finished and the fall 2024 semester class schedules have now been released (with a few registration spots still available):

Fall 2024

ADOB 111 - Adobe Construction Basics

Dates: 08/19-10/12/2024 (class meets in person September 7 & 8 and September 28 & 29, 2024)

Format: Blended (50% online + 50% field work)

Instructors: Kurt Gardella & Issac Logsdon

ADOB 112 - Adobe Wall Construction

Dates: 10/14-12/07/2024 (class meets in person October 26 & 27 and November 16 & 17, 2024)

Format: Blended (50% online + 50% field work)

Instructors: Kurt Gardella & Issac Logsdon

ADOB 113 - Passive Solar Adobe Design

Dates: 10/14-12/07/2024

Format: Online

Instructor: Kurt Gardella

View the full Fall 2024 online schedule here: https://sfccssb.sfcc.edu/PROD/pw_pub_sched.p_listthislist?term_in=202420&subj_in=ADOB

Kurt Gardella - TEG Board Member, SFCC Adjunct Faculty

Earth USA 2024 - Conference Schedule / Posters / Keynote Speaker / Registration Deadline

Earth USA 2022 Group Photo at Scottish Rite in Santa Fe

Now that we are about 5 weeks away from the start of Earth USA 2024 (Adobe in Action’s 12th International Conference on Architecture & Construction with Earthen Materials), we'd like to share some recent developments with you.

Conference Schedule

We just put the finishing touches on the preliminary conference schedule for Earth USA 2024. We currently have 27 podium presentations scheduled by presenters from around the USA and the world. See the full schedule at https://www.earthusa.org/conference-schedule-earth-usa-2024.

Poster Presentations

We also have an impressive lineup of 20 poster presentations planned for 2024. See the complete overview of posters at https://www.earthusa.org/poster-presentations-earth-usa-2024.

Keynote Speaker

Lola Ben-Alon, PhD, Assistant Professor, Columbia University will be offering our 2024 keynote address on the topic EARTH MATERIALS "RECIPES": EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH AND PEDAGOGIES.

Lola is an Assistant Professor at Columbia GSAPP, where she directs the Natural Materials Lab and the Building Science and Technology curriculum. She specializes in earth- and bio-based building materials, their life cycle, supply chains, fabrication techniques, and policy. Ben-Alon received her Ph.D. from the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University and holds a B.S. in Structural Engineering and an M.S. in Construction Management from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. At the Technion, Ben-Alon co-founded the Experimental Art and Architecture Lab. Her work has been exhibited at the London Craft Week, Indian Ceramics Triennial, Tallinn Architecture Biennale, Tel-Aviv Museum of Art, and published in Building and Environment, Journal of Green Building, and Automation in Construction. Ben-Alon serves on the board of ACSA’s Technology | Architecture + Design, and Elsevier’s Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.

AIA Credits Available

16 AIA/CES credits (LU|HSW) are available for Earth USA 2024. More info here.

Registration

Registration for Earth USA 2024 is open. See full registration details at https://www.earthusa.org/registration or go directly to our online registration system to purchase a pass: https://earthusa.bigcartel.com/

Please note: Due to venue safety precautions, conference capacity will be limited to 175 people. We will not be selling conference passes at the door in Santa Fe and fully expect our conference passes to sell out in advance online. Please use our online registration system to pre-purchase your conference pass by midnight Saturday, August 31, 2024. No additional passes will be sold after this date so that we are able to provide our conference venue with an accurate attendee count two weeks before the conference begins. Thank you for your understanding.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference in September!

Kurt Gardella - TEG Board Member, Adobe in Action Executive Director & Earth USA Organizing Team

P.S. See a complete overview of our 2024 conference sponsors (many of them TEG members) here!Earth USA 2022 Group Photo at Scottish Rite in Santa Fe Now that we are about 5 weeks away from the start of Earth USA 2024 (Adobe in Action’s 12th International Conference on Architecture & Construction with Earthen Materials), we'd like to share some recent developments with you. Conference Schedule We just put the finishing touches on the preliminary conference schedule for Earth USA 2024. We currently have 27 podium presentations scheduled by presenters from around the USA and the world. See the full schedule at https://www.earthusa.org/conference-schedule-earth-usa-2024. Poster Presentations We also have an impressive lineup of 20 poster presentations planned for 2024. See the complete overview of posters at https://www.earthusa.org/poster-presentations-earth-usa-2024. Keynote Speaker Lola Ben-Alon, PhD, Assistant Professor, Columbia University will be offering our 2024 keynote address on the topic EARTH MATERIALS "RECIPES": EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH AND PEDAGOGIES. Lola is an Assistant Professor at Columbia GSAPP, where she directs the Natural Materials Lab and the Building Science and Technology curriculum. She specializes in earth- and bio-based building materials, their life cycle, supply chains, fabrication techniques, and policy. Ben-Alon received her Ph.D. from the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University and holds a B.S. in Structural Engineering and an M.S. in Construction Management from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. At the Technion, Ben-Alon co-founded the Experimental Art and Architecture Lab. Her work has been exhibited at the London Craft Week, Indian Ceramics Triennial, Tallinn Architecture Biennale, Tel-Aviv Museum of Art, and published in Building and Environment, Journal of Green Building, and Automation in Construction. Ben-Alon serves on the board of ACSA’s Technology | Architecture + Design, and Elsevier’s Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. AIA Credits Available 16 AIA/CES credits (LU|HSW) are available for Earth USA 2024. More info here. Registration Registration for Earth USA 2024 is open. See full registration details at https://www.earthusa.org/registration or go directly to our online registration system to purchase a pass: https://earthusa.bigcartel.com/ Please note: Due to venue safety precautions, conference capacity will be limited to 175 people. We will not be selling conference passes at the door in Santa Fe and fully expect our conference passes to sell out in advance online. Please use our online registration system to pre-purchase your conference pass by midnight Saturday, August 31, 2024. No additional passes will be sold after this date so that we are able to provide our conference venue with an accurate attendee count two weeks before the conference begins. Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to seeing you at the conference in September! Kurt Gardella - TEG Board Member, Adobe in Action Executive Director & Earth USA Organizing Team P.S. See a complete overview of our 2024 conference sponsors (many of them TEG members) here!

Earthen Legends

TEG has begun a project of compiling bios/stories of those people who have contributed to our industry over the years. We are interested in receiving bios from anyone who can add to our library of knowledge in a salute to those who make up the history of earthen construction. Send your submissions to theearthbuildersguild@gmail.com.

Criteria for submissions to Earthen Legends:

One whose profession was in the field of earthen construction – building homes, commercial buildings, adobe making, rammed earth, compressed earth blocks, scebs and manufacturing of materials and products used in earthen construction.
In the field of education – teaching earthen construction
Authors on the subject of earthen buildings/materials/architecture.
Architects, engineers, and designers of earthen construction. Earthen Legends TEG has begun a project of compiling bios/stories of those people who have contributed to our industry over the years. We are interested in receiving bios from anyone who can add to our library of knowledge in a salute to those who make up the history of earthen construction. Send your submissions to theearthbuildersguild@gmail.com. Criteria for submissions to Earthen Legends:
One whose profession was in the field of earthen construction – building homes, commercial buildings, adobe making, rammed earth, compressed earth blocks, scebs and manufacturing of materials and products used in earthen construction.
In the field of education – teaching earthen construction
Authors on the subject of earthen buildings/materials/architecture.
Architects, engineers, and designers of earthen construction.

CEB Certification, Part 5 – Discussion of CEB Experienced Manufacturers and Related Experts

In my initial article (TEG Newsletter 1/23) I described four specific issues that should be addressed if TEG is to offer a CEB Certification test. These four are materials understanding, machinery understanding, operations understanding, and expertise availability. This current article focuses on the necessary and critical need for experienced CEB manufacturers and related CEB experts who can provide the knowledge and background to create, administer, and judge the results of a CEB certification test. I would like to note that for the purposes of these articles I will use the term “CEB” to avoid confusion, but please bear in mind that the addition of a stabilizer creates what we call a “CSEB”, a compressed stabilized earth block. Also, I will occasionally refer to CEB as “pressed blocks”. Please note that I am not a certified CEB manufacturer, and some of the claims I make in this article are based on empirical rather than educational knowledge, but I do have over 15 years of experience researching, making, testing, and setting up operations for CEBs. To my knowledge, no CEB certification currently exists that I or any of you reading this can take. TEG has the potential to lead the way, both nationally and even internationally, in bringing a legitimate and realistic CEB certification to life.

This will be the final installment of this series, and I invite you to read the previous installments for a complete understanding of my thoughts and deliberations on achieving a CEB certification test.

The Importance of CEB Manufacturing Expertise

The amount of time and involvement in CEB manufacturing varies widely based upon the feedback that we have gotten from both actual manufacturing folks as well as second-hand testimonials from other well versed earthen construction and manufacturing professionals. What this implies is that there is a broad and diverse range of knowledge and approaches among those who are actively involved in producing CEB products. Some block makers only make enough product to satisfy a single project while others are producing large quantities of blocks with the intent of bulk sales to any and all customers. How each of these types of block makers approach their production can be astoundingly different!

The challenge this presents is both obvious and difficult to resolve. Essentially, the question becomes how to determine what constitutes a legitimate and correct certification test? With other earthen construction methods, most of the knowledge is based on many years, even centuries, of practical experience that is passed on from one generation to the next. This makes it relatively straightforward when determining what should be part of a certification test. With CEB manufacturing, this source of experience is quite short. Yes, some type of pressed block has been part of the earthen community for quite some time, but the modern version of a machine pressed block, replete with all the various issues that must be considered to make a safe and dependable block, has not been around long enough to generate a deep and time-tested set of knowledge.

So, how do we figure out what to test for, who is to establish the test criteria, who are the experts who can administer and also judge the certification tests? We must first look at how to establish a set of standards and codes that can be applied successfully to the CEB manufacturers. This will allow us to find a common set of reference points which, when followed, produce blocks proven to be safe and dependable. Going above and beyond these codes is not a problem, but falling below is where the real dangers start being introduced. Efforts are underway both nationally and internationally to establish just such a set of standards and codes, but these efforts will take years to come to fruition and will take years after that to become fully in place and enforceable. In the meantime, good faith efforts at establishing what could be a more empirical certification test could be proposed and treated as a work in progress. Some of the initial standards and codes being worked on focus on some easily testable block characteristics, such as compression strength, modulus of rupture, and even shear strength. Also, some of the energetic characteristics, such as density, heat transfer, moisture uptake, and similar data points can be described in such a way that reasonable boundaries are established that feed into the criteria set for a safe and reliable block. This possible certification approach would then be based on demonstrating proficiency through the production of a block or set of blocks that could be put through the testing paces to determine if the producer themselves understand enough of the criteria to be able to make a credible block.

What then of the other testable and certifiable criteria like the knowledge of the raw materials and soil mix, the knowledge of the machinery and how best to apply the mechanical aspects of block production, and finally the operational understanding necessary to produce a credible block? These will take a more robust approach than a simple, if rigorous, testing of a produced set of blocks. Yet, when all is said and done, if someone is capable of producing a verifiably safe and reliable block, is it not the case that the rest of the criteria become secondary? Over time, as industry codes and standards are developed and adopted, the need to have a more comprehensive set of certification criteria must and will become apparent.

The Experts Needed to Create and Administer CEB Certification Tests

Having expertise in a field that demands a high degree of technical as well as operational abilities does not always translate into the competency needed to create and administer certification tests, but it does help when these same people are asked to review and evaluate certification tests. Essentially, they can determine if the questions being asked are representative of both the level of knowledge needed and the breadth of issues involved in becoming a certified practitioner of the field being tested for. So, that still does not address the question of who would be the appropriate experts to create the test. A good argument can be made that one approach is to enlist the help of the industry-acknowledged experts that currently exist in order to create a starting point set of questions and considerations for inclusion in the certification test.

As a template for bringing together a group of existing experts, we can look to the examples set by the on-going standards and codes actions being taken by folks that have volunteered to help in creating and establishing these standards and codes. There are quite a few members of this volunteer group that are, quite possibly, among the world’s leading experts on various forms of earthen products and their use in construction, including CEB products. This group could be the basis for an expert panel that could be consulted for both inputs on the actual criteria as well as rendering expert opinions on any set of criteria that are submitted by interested stakeholders. This approach is not without the usual challenges such as ongoing attendance at meetings, setting up the framework for the documenting and distribution of the actual certification test, administration of the test and how to ensure the correct assessment of the results, etc. This approach will obviously take a fair amount of time, perhaps several years, but the results will hopefully justify this level of commitment by the various folks taking the time and effort to bring a CEB certification test to life.

Final Thoughts

The need for a CEB certification test is not a given. Many producers have their own methods for almost any aspect of block production, from materials selection to machinery to how to set up their block plant. The one thing that is not in question is determining whether any producer can create a safe and reliable block. The health of the CEB manufacturing industry depends on this simple fact. If we can arrive at a CEB certification test that includes both the real-world test results of the physical block being produced along with a realistic set of questions focused on the producer’s knowledge and experience with CEB products, we should be able to, in the long term, ensure that CEB products are treated as a legitimate earthen product that can stand beside the standard construction products. Ultimately, if we are able to keep CEB production growing and flourishing, a certification test may become unnecessary since any CEB manufacturer would need to adhere to the standards and codes being generated and, hopefully, enacted in such a way that more, not fewer, CEB manufacturers can thrive.

Thanks for reading this article and I welcome any and all questions regarding this series. My email address is john.jordan@paverde.com and you can also reach me through the TEG website. Cheers!

M. John Jordan; TEG Board Chairman; President, Paverde LLC

CEB Certification, Part 5 – Discussion of CEB Experienced Manufacturers and Related Experts

The Importance of CEB Manufacturing Expertise

The Experts Needed to Create and Administer CEB Certification Tests

Final Thoughts

Thanks for reading this article and I welcome any and all questions regarding this series. My email address is john.jordan@paverde.com and you can also reach me through the TEG website. Cheers!

M. John Jordan; TEG Board Chairman; President, Paverde LLC

The Earthbuilders' Guild

For the Betterment and Advancement of Earthen Construction

TEG Newsletter - Issue #26We have news for you!

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